Mosul dam, Iraq
The Mosul dam in Iraq is notable as it is founded on gypsum, a water soluble rock, typically used in plasterboard the world over.
News reports in 2017 covered the fact that the dam needed permanent maintenance to replace the gypsum rock with concrete and that had not been completed due to ISIS terrorists in the area. Leading to the headline 'Mosul Dam could collapse at any minute 'killing 1.5 million people'.
Built by Saddam Hussein to supply water, the costs of removing gypsum and replacing it would be too high, so an engineered approach was taken, requiring a permanent team of maintenance workers constantly replacing and repairing the dam.
--JC5
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